Goddesses in Every Highlander Woman
by Parda
Summary: An analysis of HL women as archetypes of Greek goddesses (an essay written for the Highlander Down Under Convention of 2001)


**_"But ... you are women!"_**  
>Duncan MacLeod to Rebecca and Amanda in 1635.<p>

In the Highlander novel _The Element of Fire_, Connor MacLeod tells his young student Duncan that immortal women are "a pleasant variation" from immortal men, but, as usual, Connor is being a wee bit sarcastic. "Pleasant" doesn't begin to cover the variety of women we've seen in the Highlander Universe. Strong and weak, confident and frightened, nice and nasty, mortal and immortal, young and old, women who hate and women who love - - Highlander has them all. Some of these women we admire; some we despise. They provoke us to exasperation, evoke our sympathies, arouse our laughter, and make us cringe. At times we watch in wonder and awe, because the women of Highlander aren't just women, and they're not just stereotypes, even when they seem to be. They take on aspects of female archetypes for the Highlander myth.

In her book _Goddesses in Everywoman_, Jean Shinoda Bolen, a psychiatrist and Jungian analyst, identifies seven female archetypes and names them after Greek goddesses: Artemis, Athena, Hestia, Persephone, Hera, Demeter, and Aphrodite. Most of the women of Highlander appear in only one episode, and so we see them under limited conditions. Thus, they can be easily classified into the seven archetypes ... perhaps too easily. Every person fulfills different roles throughout life, and often takes on several roles simultaneously. A woman can have both children and a career, be both a warrior and a wife. Every person can change, and Immortals have more than enough time to change, and then to change again.

Yet when a woman exemplifies a specific archetype, she transcends human qualities and takes on heroic or mythological aspects within the context of a story. These are the women we remember best, and these are the women we may refer to (half in jest and half in earnest) as goddesses.

**== THE SELF-SUFFICIENT GODDESSES ==**

Artemis, Athena, and Hestia were known in antiquity as the virgin goddesses. None of them ever married or had children. For a modern woman, these archetypes do not denote a physical status or age, but a state of mind. Emotionally, she is self-contained, needing only her own approval. While the self-sufficient woman may eagerly welcome company and truly enjoy being a wife and a mother, she also finds contentment in solitude. These three archetypes are often described as independent and strong.

**== Artemis: Warrior-Huntress ==**

In Greek mythology, Artemis (the Roman Diana) is the goddess of the moon and the twin sister of Apollo, god of the sun. Fiercely independent, Artemis spurns all romantic attachment with men. She prefers the hunt and the companionship of her forest nymphs and dryads.

In our daily lives, few of us must battle to the death or hunt for our food, and so warrior-women are rare. In Highlander, armed combat to the death happens all the time, and so we see an unusually large percentage of female fighters (eight out of twenty-three, or close to one-third). Ceirdwyn is the best-remembered example of the warrior-goddess.

In _Take Back the Night_, Ceirdwyn seeks revenge on the gang of street punks who murdered her husband. She dispatches the first one with bloodthirsty efficiency, yet when Duncan urges her to stop hunting, she displays the essential balancing sense of forgiveness and honor that keeps a warrior from turning into a thug. She also fulfills the role of sister, counseling Duncan to forgo his own path of vengeance against the English in 1746, and to open his heart to love again in 1995.

Another warrior, May-Ling Shen, appears in _They Also Serve_, and in the sixth season of Highlander, we saw Alex Raven (no fixed job, but obviously experienced with weapons), Kyra (a bodyguard), Reagan Cole (a bounty hunter), and Katherine (a mercenary). Annie Devlin fights for Ireland. Mara Leonin, Charlie's mortal girlfriend in _The Revolutionary_, fights for her country.

Some women adopt the mantle of warrior to avenge a loved one, even though it is not their primary role. In _Revenge is Sweet_, Rebecca Lord challenges Duncan to a swordfight because she blames him for the death of her fiancé, Walter Reinhardt. Jennifer Hill picks up a sword to take Richie's head when she discovers he killed her husband, Alec. In _Justice_, Katya goes after her daughter's murderer with a crossbow. Cassandra goes after the Horsemen. Not one of these non-warrior women kills her intended target, which is perhaps more indicative of plot requirements or conventions than it is of women's capacity to kill.

A few women go too far along the warrior path and kill because they enjoy power and bloodlust. In _Free Fall_, Felicia Martins is presented as one of Highlander's few out-and-out female villains, willing to play the Game no matter what. Lisa Halle, the Tessa look-alike in _Counterfeit_, shows no remorse for her actions and no pity for her victims. Women who can kill easily and for pleasure are rare, and this is reflected in the small number of female villains.

The female warriors in Highlander have the strength to be independent, but unlike Artemis, they choose to enjoy the company of men. They are self-confident enough to face men as equals, both on the battlefield and in the bedroom, and they're not afraid of love.

**== Athena: Career Woman ==**

Like the battlefield, the boardroom has traditionally been dominated by men, but women work, too. Women who prefer intellectual challenge to physical competition often identify with Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, and the patroness of all the household arts and the sciences. The daughter of Zeus and Metis (the Titan goddess of wisdom), Athena embraces the logical and the rational. She has no interest in marriage or motherhood; work is her primary interest.

Most Immortals don't seem to have jobs. Hobbies, maybe, or something they dabble in when the mood takes them, but they seldom need to get to work on time or worry about using all their vacation days when they go hunting an Immortal half-way around the world. (We assume they've all been saving their pennies over the last few centuries and are living off the interest.) By contrast, Grace is an Immortal with a vocation.

Grace finds great satisfaction and self-fulfillment in her work as a doctor, and this sustains her during the centuries and in her sometimes unhappy relationships with men. Like the priest Darius, she has chosen a path of non-violence, even when it causes her or others pain. "No more killing!" she insists, and she goes with her former lover Sendaro in an effort to stop him from hurting others. Being a healer is not just a job to her; it's what she is.

Anne Lindsey is a mortal doctor, and she is also dedicated to preserving life. Yet when Duncan is about to fight the Nazi Daimler in _Mortal Sins_, she demands: "Kill him!" and as she watches the fight she wishes she could take Daimler's head herself. Later, she is horrified by her capacity for violence and hate. "I'm a doctor," she tells Duncan. "I save lives. I can't start wanting to take them." Since the Game isn't going to go away, and Duncan can never stop playing, Anne decides she must leave the man she loves in order to remain true to what she knows she ought to be. Perhaps Grace was also tempted to become a killer, or even was a killer, and so renounced violence entirely, just as Darius did.

Most of us mere mortals have to work, and there are many examples in Highlander of mortal women who take pride in their careers. Linda Plager leaves Duncan so she can concentrate on her photography. Renee Delaney of Army Intelligence always tries to get her man. Diane Terrin reports on the Blitz of London even as the bombs drop around her. Brenda Wyatt pursues Connor MacLeod to find out more about his sword, and Alexandra Johnson follows him from New York City to Scotland, motivated by the intense curiosity of an archeologist. Tessa's passion is art.

Work provides satisfaction and identity and income, but it shouldn't be the only thing in our lives. If a career is a person's only source of confidence, the loss of it can be devastating. Claudia Jardine is a superb concert pianist, but when her gift for music seems to disappear, she asks fearfully: "Who'll care about me if I can't play?" Obsession for work can make one blind to others' reactions or needs. Randy McFarland is intent on getting the truth for her stories, no matter how annoying she becomes. An "all-business" mentality can produce a person with no compassion and no compunctions. In _Family Tree_, Mrs. Gustavson is a ruthless businesswoman who orders Clinch to break Joe Scanlon's fingers to encourage Joe to repay his loan. In _Epitaph for Tommy_, Suzanne Honniger resorts to murdering her own father to get the job done.

Immortal women must work hard just to stay alive, and so perhaps it's unreasonable to expect them to hold down a regular job, too. The mortal women in Highlander are modern women, and almost all of them have jobs.

**== Hestia: Hearth Tender ==**

Some women's jobs require years of formal education or take them to an office everyday. Other women work from the heart or from the home. Hestia is the goddess of sacred wisdom and the hearth. Known as Vesta to the Romans, she was the patroness of the Vestal Virgins, who guarded the sacred flame of Rome and the prophetic writings of the Sibyl. In myth, Hestia is the wise woman of the village, the priestess or seeress in the temple, the witch of the forest. She is the crone aspect of the triple Goddess, no longer beholden to parent, husband, or child, but belonging only to herself and to the tribe.

In Highlander, Rebecca is the keeper of the flame. An ancient woman of mystery and hidden knowledge, she guards crystals which have a power older and greater than Immortals. No matter if the walls of her castle are upright or crumbled, her inner serenity is her strength, and to those who are troubled, she offers a refuge. The Witch of Donan Woods also guards ancient secrets and possesses magical powers, but in _Prophecy, _Cassandra is so involved with events that she is more of a controlling parent than a mentor to Duncan.

In the world of mortals, Rachel MacLeod keeps watch over the MacLeods' ancestral sword in _Homeland_, and Rachel Ellenstein guards the home of Connor MacLeod. Lucy Becker is Amanda's faithful companion, and Mary MacLeod was a respected elder in her village of Glenfinnan, and no doubt remained so even after her chieftain husband died. These older characters embody the dignity of the wise and aged woman, something we have tragically lost sight of in the modern world.

The three virgin goddesses are archetypes of women and their work: the Warrior Caste, the Worker Caste, and the Religious Caste (in a quick crossover to Babylon 5). But no man is an island, and in this, women are the same as men. Women have jobs, and women also have families, and a large part of women's lives is influenced by the people they know.

**== THE CONNECTED GODDESSES ==**

Persephone, Hera, and Demeter are three goddesses who are defined by their relationships to others, and they become the archetypes for daughter, wife, and mother, all common stages in women's lives. In a healthy family, these relationships are interdependent, each member giving to the other, but sometimes the roles become dependent or co-dependent, and women may feel trapped in a mesh of hate and love. Jean Bolen refers to this group of three as the "vulnerable goddesses" because they are connected emotionally to other people, and hence are vulnerable to suffering from others' actions. However, it is this very vulnerability which opens a woman to change and encourages her to grow and mature, so connections with other people should not be seen in a completely negative way.

The primary bond for all mammals is between mother and child. Immortals are foundlings, and mothers may be entirely absent in their lives. But whether that bond is positive or negative, present or absent, her relationship with her mother affects a woman throughout her life.

**== Persephone: Daughter ==**

Demeter, the goddess of all growing things, named her daughter Kore. As a young maiden, Kore was abducted and raped by Hades, the god of the dead. Having eaten the seeds of the pomegranate, she can never fully escape the land of the dead. Kore changes her name to Persephone, marries Hades, and becomes queen of the underworld. Each spring, she returns to her mother and lives under the sunny sky. When autumn arrives, she joins her husband in the caves. Persephone is both the harbinger of new life and the welcomer of the dead.

The story of Kore can be seen as a metaphor for leaving childhood behind, and since all women start life as girls, it is the one archetype that all women share. Female Immortals face this trial twice: when they progress from girl to woman, and when they change from mortal to immortal. The process of maturation can be exhilarating or excruciating or both, but it is irrevocable. Conflicts with parents and other authority figures are common during this stage. Amanda tests her teacher's tolerance by attempting to steal from her. In _Nowhere to Run_, Lori Bellian argues with her father about his decision to kill the man who raped her. In _Rite of Passage_, Michelle Webster defies first her parents and then Duncan, and in _Duende_, Louisa Hidalgo tries to break free of her mother's control. In _Indiscretions_, Amy Brennan-Thomas struggles to build a relationship with her father, Joe Dawson.

For Cassandra, the myth is no metaphor, and in Highlander she takes on Kore's role. In the Bronze Age, all the people of her village are slaughtered, and she becomes immortal. She is enslaved and raped by Methos, Death on a horse. Gradually, she accepts her new life. But after Methos gives her to Kronos, she flees; though she can not truly escape. Her love for Methos is the seed of her obsession, and she leaves a part of her girl-woman self with him. Only if she overcomes her fear and hatred of her former master can she finish growing up. Three thousand years later in Bordeaux, she forbears to kill Methos. She drops the axe and walks from the shadows of the underworld into the light of day.

Kore's story is a beginning; Persephone's story contains the end. In _Timeless_, both tales are told. Claudia Jardine is dragged fuming and fussing through her first death into immortality, while Alexa quietly prepares for a different encounter with death, a journey from which there can be no return. For Alexa, Methos is a gentle guide, taking her on a tour of the sunlit world, until they each must go on alone. The dying Linda Plager assumes this queenly mantle, and Sophie touches on it in AAA.

The daughter archetype of Kore provokes sympathy or amused tolerance, as long as the whiny or rebellious stage doesn't last too long. The Queen of the Dead evokes profound respect and awe.

**== Hera: Wife ==**

Only one other goddess lays claim to the title of queen: Hera, wife to Zeus. In the myths she is often portrayed as a jealous shrew, but her perpetually unfaithful husband certainly gives her reason to complain. The archetype of wife encompasses lovers and girlfriends; it is a woman who is a loving companion to a man.

Tessa Noel and Duncan MacLeod do not marry, but she is the love of Duncan's life. Strong, smart, and sexy, she has a career of her own and isn't afraid to show her temper or speak up for herself. She graciously welcomes both Richie and Grace into her home. Tessa is Duncan's lover and his friend, the ultimate of what a wife can be. In the Highlander movies, Heather is the beloved and loving wife. She and Connor stay married for fifty years, and even half a century together isn't long enough for them. On her deathbed she tells him, "I want to stay with you, forever," and Connor replies, "I want that, too."

Yet not all couples live happily ever after. A discontented or disappointed woman can become a nagging shrew. After three hundred years of marriage, Angelina de Valincourt is bored and takes to throwing tantrums and tossing dishes at her husband. Carolyn Marsh writes novels about a fantasy lover to make her husband jealous.

When a woman feels betrayed by the one she loved and trusted above all others, her powerful feelings of love can become equally powerful rage. Sexual infidelity is the most common betrayal, and a wife's anger is often directed at the new lover instead of her husband, but other reasons may suffice. In the Horsemen episodes, Cassandra is determined to kill Methos because he abandoned and betrayed her. Kristin, a walking mess of jealous insecurities, goes after anyone who tries to leave her, male or female. Nefertiri kills Constantine's wife because he "permitted" Cleopatra to die, and in the movie _Endgame_, Faith tries to kill Duncan because she is angry that he made her immortal without her knowledge or consent.

Happy marriages aren't common in stories, in part because conflict is more interesting than contentment, but also because happy marriages aren't all that common in real life, either. A good marriage takes commitment and hard work from both partners. If the marriage includes children, a woman must work at being a mother as well as a wife.

**== Demeter: Mother ==**

Demeter is the mother not just of Kore, but of all growing things. Usually nurturing and giving, Demeter can also be deadly to those who threaten or hurt her children, even to the point of allowing innocents to die. When she is told her daughter must remain in the underworld, Demeter withdraws her blessings from the crops and impassively watches the entire world starve. Like the betrayed wife, the protective mother's deepest instincts are aroused, and she is not a woman to be trifled with.

Because Immortals are sterile and the Game is not safe for children, Highlander contains few examples of this primary role. Mary MacLeod is the mother we know best, a strong woman who raises a strong son. From the moment she lays eyes on the foundling child, he is her son, and she lets no one say otherwise, not the midwife, not her husband, not even Duncan himself. At her husband's deathbed, she tells Duncan, "You're Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod," and those words and her love stay with him every day of his life.

The desire to nurture is strong in many women, and those without children may choose to express it in other ways. Rebecca takes Amanda as her student, who in turn does the same for Kenny, although with less favorable results. Tessa cares for the girl Melinda for a time, and, in a way, is a mother to Richie, too.

Motherhood is supposed to be an intense experience, but sometimes it can overwhelm. In _Justice_, Katya is the avenging mother, determined to kill the man who murdered her daughter. However, the man is also Katya's son-in-law and the father of her granddaughter, and concern for the little girl stays Katya's hand. Ingrid sees herself as a "mother" to the people of the world, but when she assassinates political targets and kills innocents, too, her grief and rage have taken her too far.

Women can lose themselves in hate, but they can also lose themselves in love. In _Not to Be_, the dream-Tessa has forsaken the artistic part of herself for the roles of wife and mother, and she has lost her sense of who she is. This is not uncommon, and many women emerge from a decade or more of mothering with a new purpose and strength. But other women become controlling, attempting to run their children's lives, or to live their own lives over again. In _Duende_, after Anna Hidalgo's leg is broken and her dancing career is ended, she tries to "live through" her daughter's dancing until the young woman rebels. In _They Also Serve_, Watcher Rita Luce begins to see Michael Christian as a surrogate son, and she manipulates and kills others so he can take more heads and win the Game.

The mother archetype, like all the archetypes, has positive and negative aspects. Mothers can be possessive and obsessive, or they can be nurturing and empowering. It is a profound experience, and most women will say that being a mother changed not just their daily lives, but their very souls. But before the rocking of the cradle, there must come the goddess who can rock the world.

**== THE SEX GODDESS ==**

The equation "Highlander" plus "sex goddess" has only one answer: Amanda. Charming and infuriating, flirtatious and outrageous, independent and manipulative, self-centered and generous, impulsive and calculating, a stealer of both hearts and purses, Amanda doesn't follow any rules.

**== Aphrodite: Lover ==**

Aphrodite doesn't follow any rules, either. Sexuality is a primal force, amoral and nearly irresistible. Aphrodite's sisters are the Furies, who pursue men and drive them mad. In the grip of sexual desire, people will break oaths, betray spouses and friends, abandon children, jump ship, or start wars. In every society, sexuality for both sexes is bound by taboo and custom to channel its power. Sometimes sexuality is both dammed and damned, and when it bursts free (and it always does), all hell breaks loose, but heaven comes with it, too.

Bolen calls Aphrodite the "alchemical goddess," with the power to change everything she touches. Love can turn your world upside down, and Amanda does that to Duncan all the time. He calls her "a bad habit" but also tells her, "You make my heart glad."

She does that for a lot of other people, too. In an informal survey of about fifty Highlander fans, Amanda was the best-remembered of all the women of Highlander. True, she had her own series and was in many episodes, but she made an impact the moment she appeared on _Lady and the Tiger_ in 1993. Fans describe her as adventurous, witty, unpredictable, multi-layered, beautiful, and "adorable, horrible, and good-hearted all at once." More than one said, "I want to be just like her."

Yet other fans dislike her. Pushy and obnoxious, they say. A parasite. Not very intelligent, not very strong. Annoying, manipulative, dangerous. A thief and a slut (but never, it must be said, cheap). The terms are similar to those used by preachers and ancient philosophers who warn against the dangers of lust. And they're right; lust is dangerous. Uncontrolled, it can destroy marriages and families, putting children at risk and fracturing the bonds of kinship and society.

Like Aphrodite - like sex itself - - Amanda intrigues and excites and frightens and sometimes, she repels. We want to be swept away, and yet we hold back. Should we play it safe or go all the way? What will the neighbors say? What will our parents think? Should we be good girls or bad girls? Can we trust ourselves enough to be fully sexual women, unabashed and unashamed, the way we know we have the capability to be?

Most of us say no. Amanda says yes, and we both love and hate her for that.

**== WHAT WOMEN WANT ==**

Aphrodite is a powerful force, but she can never be tamed, and our uneasiness about that unpredictability is reflected in our ambivalence toward Amanda and toward our own sexuality. Our reactions to the other six archetypes are more straightforward.

Highlander is a fantasy, and sometimes we like to lose ourselves in a fantasy world. The Worker garners our respect, but nothing more exciting. We already know what it is to work everyday, and that is not part of our dreams. We also respect the Mother, but washing diapers is not a glamorous occupation. No one said they wanted to be just like Mary MacLeod; a fair number of us probably already have a job a lot like hers. No one wants to be the Child struggling to grow up, either. We've been there, done that, and it's not a lot of fun. Although we all still carry an "inner child" within us - - often hidden, at times painfully obvious - - we don't have much patience for those who don't grow up. Alexa touches us deeply, and we wouldn't mind having Methos as a tour guide, but we don't want to die.

So, what do we want? We want love, of course, a companion to share our lives and dreams. Sex is of great interest, too. But we also want to be in control of our lives and our destiny. Bolen notes: "Goddesses representing all three categories need expression somewhere in a woman's life-in order for her to love deeply, work meaningfully, and be sensual and creative." To be a positive role model, a woman must be both self-sufficient and loving, with a touch of Aphrodite, too.

Tessa loves Duncan, has an exciting and respected artistic career, and is beautiful and sexy. She balances the three roles of Worker-Wife-Lover. Almost all of us admire her, though some wonder if she isn't a little _too_ good to be true. Many of us are living that life in some form, and we know it's not so easy, especially when children are included.

Traditionally, the wifely role has not been one of equality, and over the ages women have developed ways to cope with that. Modern women have no patience for such stratagems anymore. We immediately recognize the manipulative wife, and we despise her. We might sympathize with a jealous wife, but only so far. We have no respect for a woman who puts up with bad treatment by a man, and we cannot stand a woman who accepts the helpless little female role.

Thus, the Warrior earns our regard. We remember these women as strong, independent, kick-ass, courageous, and intriguing. We are also impressed by their warm and loving relationships with their husbands or lovers and friends, and their physical prowess and beauty. They are Warrior-Wife-Lover, and many of us fantasize about having those qualities in our lives. Some of us go beyond mere imagining and take classes in how to fight.

Our fantasies go farther to include the magic and mystery we may never see in our mundane lives. While we admire the production of the Worker and respect the physical strength of the Warrior, we absolutely revere the wisdom of the Keeper of the Hearth. Rebecca is described by fans as graceful and luminous, saintly and wise, beautiful and strong, ethereal, serene, gentle and noble, an angelic mother. In the Witch of Donan Woods persona, Cassandra is remembered as mysterious and powerful, and many fans find that potential very intriguing, regardless of what Cassandra actually accomplished on screen. Cassandra and the mortals in this role are without partners, but Rebecca has both magic and a man. She is WiseWoman-Wife-Lover, and there is a deep hunger in us for that balance, both in our lives and in the world.

Highlander has taken us on many adventures and shown us many lands. We've watched friends become strangers, and strangers become friends. We've learned of ancient and yet somehow familiar ways. We've seen reflections of who we are, and-even more importantly-we've caught glimpses of what we want to be.

What we can be. For ...

**_Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it._**  
><strong><em>Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.<em>**  
>-Goethe<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Books mentioned<strong>

Henderson, Jason, _The Element of Fire_, Warner Brooks, Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-446-60283-3

Bolen, Jean Shinoda, _The Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women_, HarperCollins, 1985. ISBN: 006091291X

**Many thanks to** Bridget, Robin, Cathy, Lisa, Bridgett, Selena, and everyone who shared opinions and cast votes.

**About the Essay**

In February of 2000, the staff for the HL Down Under Convention asked several fanfic writers to write essays about characters on HL. They asked me to write about Cassandra, and I decided to look at why Cassandra is so annoying to so many. I decided it's partly because she's the woman we have been and don't want to be anymore (_The Shattered Goddess_). In March of 2001, HLDU asked me to write about "Women of Highlander," and so I started wondering what women *do* want to be.

And now that I have finished this essay about women, I'm wondering about the men of HL. Other questions that come to mind:

Do Immortals find satisfaction in careers? What kind of work stays interesting for centuries? If you didn't have to work for money, what kind of work would you pursue? Gregor Powers was a doctor for some time, and David Keogh worked in wood, but are there any immortal scientists? Mathematicians? People who want to know everything about how the universe works and have the centuries to learn? (The Chinese guy searching for a drug doesn't count.)

How does the lack of a family affect the long-term development of Immortals? Did Kronos have a happy childhood? How about Methos? Kristin? (See my story _Long Have I Waited_ for a take on Kronos's childhood).

How much of how we react to the characters is based on sophisticated packaging? Would we have liked Ceirdwyn so much if we had actually _seen_ her kill a mortal with her sword and then carve designs on his face? Was that a fair fight between warriors, or did the man have any clue how to use a sword?

Why did we get annoyed with Duncan for offering his head up to save Joe and Amanda, and yet see the same act as noble self-sacrifice on Rebecca's part? Duncan was going to save two people; Rebecca saved only one. Was Rebecca always nice, or did she have centuries of being a "Horsewoman" type of person?

How would the HL universe have been different if Duncan's watcher had been Josephine, a happily married gray-haired grandmother of seven who liked jazz? (Crossing over to Star Wars, how would things have been different if the handsome Lando Calrissian had been the beautiful Laina Calrissian, a former lover of Han Solo?) Would Methos and Josephine have become good friends?

And many more ...  
>_<p> 


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